Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF (ARCA:SCHA), Trade Ideas

Etf,Exchange,Traded,Fund,Stock,Market,Trading,Investment,Financial,Concept.

Analyst Color

Broad U.S. Equity ETFs

New ETFs

Small Cap

Econ #s

Analyst Ratings

ETFs

AVUV

CALF

DFAS

SCHA

SPSM

SSEUF

VTWO

Small-cap ETFs see record-breaking inflows, driven by retail investors. Bank of America predicts bullish outlook for 2024.

Small-Cap ETFs Enjoy Record Inflows Due To Optimistic Retail Investors: Is This The Decade Of 10% Annual Returns?

Education

Personal Finance

General

NFLX

TEVA

TSLA

WELL

8 Of The Best Investments For Boomers Concerned About Retirement

Long Ideas

News

Small Cap Analysis

Trading Ideas

Small-Caps, Small Fee With This ETF

Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF

Schaeffler AG

Small-cap exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have witnessed their largest weekly inflows since Bank of America began tracking <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/topic/small-caps">the data in 2017.</a> 
According to a note shared Wednesday, this surge is predominantly fueled by retail investors, marking a significant shift in market dynamics. 
Over the past 23 weeks, 22 have seen positive inflows, culminating in a record-breaking week that attracted over $3.5 billion into small-cap ETFs.
Data derived from Tradingview shows that the Pacer US Small Cap Cash Cows ETF (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/CALF#NYSE">CALF</a>) has emerged as a frontrunner, drawing in over $3 billion in the last three months, closely followed by the Vanguard Small-Cap ETF (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/VB#NYSE">VB</a>) with $2.6 billion of inflows, of which $1.615 billion recorded in the last month alone. 
Despite this record influx of funds, Bank of America highlights that small caps remain undervalued relative to their historical performance.
Top 10 Small-Cap ETF By Inflows Over The Last Three Months
<figure class="wp-block-table is-style-stripes"> 
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Small-Cap ETF </td>
<td>1M Flows</td>
<td>3M Flows</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Pacer US Small Cap Cash Cows </td>
<td>1.194B </td>
<td>3.096B</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Vanguard Small-Cap ETF </td>
<td>1.615B </td>
<td>2.608B</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>iShares Core S&amp;P Small-Cap ETF (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/IJR#NYSE">IJR</a>)</td>
<td>116.003M </td>
<td>1.651B</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Avantis U.S. Small Cap Value ETF (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/AVUV#NYSE">AVUV</a>)</td>
<td>695.473M </td>
<td>1.646B</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Vanguard Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/VTWO#NYSE">VTWO</a>)</td>
<td>750.154M </td>
<td>1.411B</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>SPDR Portfolio S&amp;P 600 Small Cap ETF (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/SPSM#NYSE">SPSM</a>)</td>
<td>417.995M</td>
<td>915.308M</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Vanguard Small-Cap Growth ETF (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/VBK#NYSE">VBK</a>)</td>
<td>440.327M</td>
<td>741.54M</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/SCHA#NYSE">SCHA</a>)</td>
<td>520.145M </td>
<td>622.329M</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Dimensional U.S. Small Cap ETF (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/DFAS#NYSE">DFAS</a>)</td>
<td>131.079M</td>
<td>507.818M</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>SSGA SPDR ETFS EUROPE II PLC (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/SSEUF#NYSE">SSEUF</a>)</td>
<td>184.185M</td>
<td>484.932M</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</figure>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Small Caps: A Bullish Outlook For 2024</h2>
Bank of America&#8217;s analysis suggests a turning tide for small caps. Analyst Jill Carey Hall, CFA, maintains a bullish outlook, predicting that 2024 could mark the year when small caps outperform large caps for the first time in nearly a decade. 
This optimism stems from a resilient small-cap sector, which has priced in a recession that has yet to materialize, as evidenced by the Russell 2000&#8217;s performance.
With investor sentiment improving and valuations becoming more attractive, small caps present a compelling opportunity for long-term investors. The Russell 2000&#8217;s forward P/E ratio has dipped to 14.3x, positioning small caps as the only size segment that is historically inexpensive. 
According to Bank of America, the valuation gap between small and large caps is reminiscent of the disparity seen during the Tech Bubble, which preceded a decade of exceptional returns for small caps.
Bank of America&#8217;s analysis implies potential annualized returns of 10% over the next decade for the Russell 2000, compared to a modest 3% for the Russell 1000.
For 2024, Bank of America reinforces the strategy of focusing on value within the small and mid-cap spaces. This approach favors high-quality stocks over non-earners. Financials, Communication Services, and Industrials are identified as top sector overweights within small caps. 
Read Now: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/money/best-small-cap-stocks">Best Small Cap Stocks Right Now</a>
Photo: Shutterstock

Nearly half of all baby boomers have already reached retirement age, yet 45% of baby boomers have no retirement savings whatsoever, according to the <a href="https://www.myirionline.org/docs/default-source/research/iri_babyboomers_whitepaper_2018_final.pdf?sfvrsn=2">Insured Retirement Institute</a>.
For boomers wondering where to start when it comes to retirement saving and investing, there are plenty of options out there that can both limit risk and potentially generate big returns. Here are eight ways to invest for retirement.
<h3>1. Savings And Cash Accounts</h3>
One of the most risk-free places to put retirement funds is in high-yield savings accounts, cash accounts or certificates of deposit. These options are FDIC insured for up to $250,000 per person per bank, but the typical yields are relatively low. Today, investors can expect to max out their annual cash returns in the 2% to 2.75% range, slightly higher than the Federal Reserve&rsquo;s 2% inflation target.
<h3>2. Bonds</h3>
Bonds essentially allow companies and governments to borrow money from investors and pay them back over time with interest. U.S. Treasury bonds are some of the safest bonds available for investors, but their returns are relatively lackluster. Yields on 10-year Treasuries is currently just 2.05%.
Investors can get slightly higher returns from investment-grade corporate bonds issued by companies that have high credit ratings.
The iShares IBoxx $ Invest Grade Corp Bd Fd (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/lqd#NYSE">LQD</a>) is a diversified fund of investment-grade corporate bonds from companies like JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co. (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/jpm#NYSE">JPM</a>) and Bank of America Corp (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/bac#NYSE">BAC</a>). The LQD fund has a 3.4% annual yield. High-yield corporate bonds issued by companies with sub-investment-grade credit ratings are more risky investments but often provide much higher yields.
The iShares iBoxx $ High Yid Corp Bond (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/hyg#NYSE">HYG</a>) is a diversified play on bonds from companies like Sprint Corp (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/s#NYSE">S</a>) and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/teva#NYSE">TEVA</a>). These companies have a higher risk of failure, but the HYG fund pays a 5.3% annual yield.
See Also: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/trading-ideas/long-ideas/19/07/14088579/8-best-places-to-put-leftover-cash-to-work">8 Best Places To Put Leftover Cash To Work</a>
<h3>3. Equity ETFs</h3>
Any American who remembers the 2008 financial crisis knows exactly how risky and volatile the stock market can be. Despite the near-term risk, the S&amp;P 500 has been remarkably consistent throughout the years when it comes to long-term performance.
Despite a number of market booms and busts &mdash; World War II, the Great Depression, the Financial Crisis and any number of major economic disruptions &mdash; the 30-year rolling annual return of the S&amp;P 500 has always stayed between around 8% and 15%. Low-cost S&amp;P 500 index ETFs, such as the VANGUARD IX FUN/S&amp;P 500 ETF SHS NEW (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/voo#NYSE">VOO</a>) can give retirement investors both access to these returns and safety via diversification.
For investors willing to risk a bit more for higher returns, small-cap ETFs like the SCHWAB STRATEGI/US SMALL-CAP ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/scha#NYSE">SCHA</a>) or emerging market ETFs like the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Indx (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/eem#NYSE">EEM</a>) can offer higher potential upside and lower potential downside.
<h3>4. Annuities</h3>
Annuities are similar to bonds in that an investor turns over cash now in exchange for a source of fixed income during retirement. Annuities can be structured in countless different ways.
For example, lifetime annuities can provide monthly payments for retirees every month until they die. The downside to annuities is that investors may have to pay a large purchase commission and may be charged a steep early withdrawal penalty if they need to access their cash early.
<h3>5. Mutual Funds</h3>
Mutual funds are professionally-managed portfolios of investments, typically stocks and bonds. Mutual funds are one of the most popular retirement investment options, accounting for as much as 68% of individual retirement account assets and 48% of 401(k) assets as <a href="https://www.moneycrashers.com/best-investments-retirement/">of 2013</a>. Mutual fund returns can vary widely, much like returns on ETFs, based on the allocation of the fund.
<h3>6. Individual Stocks</h3>
One of the most risky approaches to retirement investing is buying individual stocks. Investors who pick winners can really amp up their returns.
For example, Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/nflx#NASDAQ">NFLX</a>) shares have gained 417% in the past five years compared to just a 52% gain for the S&amp;P 500 as a whole. However, Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/tsla#NASDAQ">TSLA</a>) stock has gained just 18% in that same stretch, and its investors have missed out on much of the overall market returns.
Retirement investors considering buying individual stocks can target large, blue-chip companies with stable businesses to reduce risk, such as the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. In addition, increasing the number of different stocks held in a portfolio reduces the risks associated with each individual company.
See Also: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/etfs/broad-u-s-equity-etfs/19/06/13810717/compounding-the-boring-key-to-huge-long-term-investing-returns">Compounding: The Boring Key To Huge Long-Term Investing Returns</a>
<h3>7. Precious Metals</h3>
Precious metals like gold and silver are popular investments among retirees, but their historical returns haven&rsquo;t been particularly great. Over the past 40 years, the price of silver has risen from $9.05/oz to just $15.04/oz, an average annual return of only 1.65%.
Precious metals tend to help investors protect against inflation in the long-term. However, since the metals don&#39;t produce income, their only value comes from a combination of market supply and demand.
<h3>8. Real Estate</h3>
The rise of real estate investment trusts has made investing in real estate easier than ever. Retirees don&rsquo;t need to go through the hassle of buying actual land when they can buy REITs on the public market just like stocks.
Diversified REITs funds like the VANGUARD IX FUN/RL EST IX FD ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/vnq#NYSE">VNQ</a>) offer investors exposure to essentially the entire real estate universe. There are also plenty of REITs that specialize in particular types of real estate, including shopping mall REIT Simon Property Group Inc (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/spg#NYSE">SPG</a>), storage REIT Public Storage (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/psa#NYSE">PSA</a>) and senior housing REIT Welltower Inc (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/well#NYSE">WELL</a>).
REITs often pay large yields of 4% or greater, but portions of their payouts may be taxed as ordinary income rather than dividends. Retirement investors should make sure they fully understand the nuances of REIT dividend <a href="https://inland-investments.com/education-insights/new-tax-act-provides-substantial-tax-savings-reit-shareholders">tax law</a> to avoid making potentially costly tax mistake.

Investors love low-cost exchange traded funds. Fortunately, ETF fees are declining, giving frugal investors plenty of choices for accessing multiple asset classes. When it comes to cheap small-cap ETFs, the Schwab US Small-Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/scha#NYSE">SCHA</a>) is one of the cheapest.
With an annual expense ratio of 0.05 percent, or $5 on a $10,000 investment, the Schwab US Small-Cap ETF is slightly cheaper than the Vanguard Small-Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/vb#NYSE">VB</a>) and the iShares Core S&amp;P Small-Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/ijr#NYSE">IJR</a>).
SCHA tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Total Stock Market Index, a competitor to the widely followed Russell 2000 Index and the S&amp;P SmallCap 600 Index. Last year, SCHA gained 14.9 percent, slightly beating the Russell 2000 while topping the S&amp;P SmallCap 600 Index by 170 basis points.
<h3>
	Diversified And Efficient</h3>
&ldquo;The fund offers well-diversified exposure to U.S. small-cap stocks by tracking the Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Total Stock Market Index,&rdquo; Morningstar <a href="http://beta.morningstar.com/articles/842830/not-all-index-tracking-funds-are-created-equal.html">in a note</a>. &ldquo;The index represents the bottom 15 percent of stocks by market cap in the total U.S. investable stock market. It holds about 1,750 stocks and extends further down the market-cap spectrum than its typical peer. But its average market cap is 20 percent larger than the Morningstar Category average&#39;s, likely because of a market-cap-weighting approach that pulls the portfolio toward the largest small-cap stocks.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Tilting toward larger small-caps can help reduce volatility. Last year, SCHA&#39;s annualized volatility was below that of the Russell 2000 Index and the S&amp;P SmallCap 600 Index. Over the past three years, the Schwab fund&#39;s annualized volatility was also below the comparable metrics on those major small-cap benchmarks.
SCHA holds 1,747 stocks. The ETF allocates 17.7 percent to financial services stocks and almost 16 percent to the technology sector. The industrial and consumer discretionary sectors combine for 28 percent of SCHA&#39;s weight.
<h3>
	More Cost Savings</h3>
Investors looking to increase their savings with SCHA can access <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/trading-ideas/long-ideas/18/01/10984604/schwab-expands-commission-free-etf-lineup">the ETF commission-free</a> on the Schwab ETF OneSource platform. The fund features other cost efficiencies.&nbsp;
The fund has advantages that should reduce its transaction costs, which is important because smaller stocks tend to be more expensive to trade,&rdquo; said Morningstar. &ldquo;First, it tracks a less popular index than peers, so there&#39;s less demand for liquidity when stocks are added or removed from the index. And its index applies buffer rules to mitigate unnecessary trades. These buffer rules, together with the fund&#39;s broad market-cap-weighting approach, have kept turnover well under the small-blend category average.&rdquo;
Related Links:
<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/trading-ideas/long-ideas/18/01/10992247/investors-are-flocking-to-this-commodities-etf">Investors Love This Commodities ETF</a>
<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/trading-ideas/long-ideas/18/01/10992243/a-concrete-play-on-trumps-infrastructure-plan-with-this-etf">An Interesting Infrastructure Idea</a>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" allowtransparency="true" class="wistia_embed" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="" msallowfullscreen="" name="wistia_embed" oallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="https://fast.wistia.net/embed/iframe/88icxz0hri" title="Wistia video player" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe>
<script src="https://fast.wistia.net/assets/external/E-v1.js" async></script>

Last week, BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/blk#NYSE">BLK</a>) iShares unit, the world&#39;s largest sponsor of exchange-traded funds, shook the ETF industry with wide-ranging fee reductions to its iShares core lineup, a suite of ETFs designed four years with cost-conscious, long-term investors in mind.
All told, iShares <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/news/16/10/8530578/blackrock-flexes-its-muscles-in-fee-battle-cuts-core-etf-prices">lowered fees on 15</a> of its 22 core ETFs, including well-known offerings such as the iShares Core S&amp;P 500 Index (ETF) (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/ivv#NYSE">IVV</a>), iShares S&amp;P SmallCap 600 Index (ETF) (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/ijr#NYSE">IJR</a>), iShares Core High Dividend ETF (iShares Trust NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/hdv#NYSE">HDV</a>)) and the iShares Barclays Aggregate Bond Fund (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/agg#NYSE">AGG</a>).
<h3>Mirroring Strategies</h3>
As is par for the course in the ETF business, fee cuts from one issuer are usually followed by some from a rival and usually that happens in short order. That is again the case as Charles Schwab Corp (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/schw#NYSE">SCHW</a>) responded to the iShares fee cuts with its own fee reductions, announced last Friday.
<bzrelatedlink>Related Link: <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/16/10/8535976/inside-blackrocks-etf-fee-cuts">Inside BlackRock's ETF Fee Cuts</a></bzrelatedlink>
Schwab, the fifth-largest U.S. ETF issuer, said it lowered fees on five of its ETFs, which already among the industry&#39;s least expensive. The company lowered the annual expense ratios on the Schwab U S Small-Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/scha#NYSE">SCHA</a>) and the Schwab Strategic Trust (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/schm#NYSE">SCHM</a>) to 0.06 percent, or $6 per year on a $10,000 investment, from 0.07 percent.
The Schwab International Equity ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/schf#NYSE">SCHF</a>) is now charging 0.07 percent per year, down from 0.08 percent while the Schwab Emerging Markets Equity ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/sche#NYSE">SCHE</a>) saw its fee reduced to 0.13 percent annually down from 0.14 percent.
The Schwab Strategic Trust (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/schz#NYSE">SCHZ</a>) undercuts the aforementioned AGG by a single basis point with a new annual fee of 0.04 percent.
Schwab clients can realize additional cost savings on the company&#39;s Schwab ETF OneSource platform, the largest commission-free platform in the brokerage business.
<a href="https://pro.benzinga.com/?utm_source=Benzinga&amp;utm_medium=Benzinga%20Top%20of%20Article&amp;am%22%3">Full ratings data available on Benzinga Pro.</a>
Do you have ideas for articles/interviews you'd like to see more of on Benzinga? Please email <a href="mailto:feedback@benzinga.com">feedback@benzinga.com</a> with your best article ideas. One person will be randomly selected to win a $20 Amazon gift card!

SCHB

SCHE

SCHF

SCHM

SCHW

SCHZ

Schwab Has An Answer In Latest ETF Fee Tussle

By <a data-ls-seen="1" href="http://www.dailygainsletter.com/author/johnwhitefoot/" rel="author" title="Posts by John Whitefoot">John Whitefoot</a>

	As all investors know, no two equities march to the same drum. This would then mean that, technically, it should be impossible to predict future returns based on readily available information. However, this might not be entirely true, as it turns out there may be something to be said for some seasonal investing patterns after all.

	First off, when it comes to gathering statistics, there&rsquo;s no better place to look than the stock markets. Monthly price data for equities on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) goes back to the early 1900s and data from the other indices goes back to their infancy. So it&rsquo;s possible to gather objective data and weed out irregularities.

	One of the most popular investing seasonal anomalies is the &ldquo;<a data-ls-seen="1" data-mce-href="http://www.dailygainsletter.com/january-effect" href="http://www.dailygainsletter.com/january-effect" target="_blank">January effect</a>,&rdquo; which really runs from late December to at least the end of February. The January effect theorizes that small-cap U.S. stocks have a history of outperforming the S&amp;P 500.

	Also Read: <a data-mce-href="http://www.dailygainsletter.com/nyse-stock-market-holidays-schedule/" href="http://www.dailygainsletter.com/nyse-stock-market-holidays-schedule/" target="_blank">NYSE 2014&ndash;2016 Holidays Schedule</a>

	The January effect was first observed by investment banker Sidney B. Wachtel and published in his paper &ldquo;Certain Observations on Seasonal Movements in Stock Prices,&rdquo; which appeared in The Journal of Business of the University of Chicago in 1942. In his paper, Wachtel shows that since 1925, small-cap stocks have outperformed the broader market in the month of January. (Source: Wachtel, S.B., &ldquo;Certain Observations on Seasonal Movements in Stock Prices,&rdquo; The Journal of Business of the University of Chicago April 1942: 15 (2); 184&ndash;193.)

	Why is this? Most analysts theorize that tax-loss selling ramps up near the end of the year, when investors sell losing positions. Larger stocks can absorb the hit&mdash;but smaller stocks, not so much, which makes them prime rebound candidates for the January effect. The January effect might also be subconsciously engineered, in part, by mutual fund managers who tend to get more conservative later in the year; focusing on larger stocks and turning their backs on smaller, riskier stocks.

	Between 1957 and 2007, the average January return for an equally weighted portfolio of stocks tilted toward small-cap stocks was 5.3%, while the return for a portfolio weighted toward large-cap stocks was 2.2%&mdash;a sizeable difference. (Source: Athanassakos, G., &ldquo;How to play the stock market&rsquo;s January effect,&rdquo; The Globe and Mail, December 30, 2013.)

	According to other research, the Russell 2000 small-cap index outperforms the S&amp;P 500 for a three-month period between December 15 and March 12. The Russell 2000, which was trading at 1,110 on Friday, December 13, 2013, gained during the December&ndash;March period in 19 of the last 25 years, for an average gain per period of 5.83%. During the same December&ndash;March period, the S&amp;P 500 has climbed by an average of 3.25%&mdash;again, a sizeable difference. (Source: Vialoux, J. and Vialoux, D., &ldquo;ETFs to buy as small-cap stocks enter seasonal high point,&rdquo; The Globe and Mail, December 20, 2013.)

	The U.S. economy might be an added bonus to the January effect this year. Not surprisingly, most small- and mid-caps are more focused on the domestic economy; as a result, earnings should pick up more than usual as the U.S. economy gains steam.

	Normally, when a stock market trend is common knowledge, it loses its effectiveness. But, over the last 55 years, the January effect has been quite resilient. And even though we&rsquo;ve already started the third week of January, there&rsquo;s still plenty of time for investors to benefit from the January effect.

	To capitalize on the January effect, some investors might favor looking at small-cap stocks that took an unjustified hit in December. Risk-adverse investors might want to consider small-cap exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

	One of the most popular small-cap ETFs is iShares Russell 2000 (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/iwm#NYSE">IWM</a>). Investors might also want to do some research on the Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/scha#NYSE">SCHA</a>) or even the iShares S&amp;P/TSX SmallCap Index (TSX/XCS).

	If you do want to look at individual small-cap stocks, just remember that the January effect isn&rsquo;t 100% accurate. To protect yourself during the January effect, only consider those smaller stocks that are fundamentally solid.

	This article <a data-mce-href="http://www.dailygainsletter.com/wealth-creation-2/how-to-play-seasonal-anomalies-for-profit/2340/" href="http://www.dailygainsletter.com/wealth-creation-2/how-to-play-seasonal-anomalies-for-profit/2340/" target="_blank">How to Play Seasonal Anomalies for Profit</a> was originally published at <a data-mce-href="http://www.dailygainsletter.com" href="http://www.dailygainsletter.com" target="_blank">Daily Gains Letter</a>

Markets

How to Play Seasonal Anomalies for Profit

As U.S. stocks continue to grind higher, small-caps are getting in on the act as well. 

That much is highlighted by the year-to-date performances of the iShares Russell 2000 Index Fund (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/iwm#NYSE">IWM</a>) an the Vanguard Small-Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/vb#NYSE">VB</a>). Including Wednesday's gains, both IWM and VB are now up more than nine percent year-to-date.

IWM and VB are among the larger, more familiar small-cap ETFs and in the case of IWM, that ETF is the most heavily traded among domestic small-caps funds with average daily volume over 34.3 million shares. 

The asset-gathering prowess of IWM and VB along with the Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/scha#NYSE">SCHA</a>), the segment's low-cost leader, gives these funds some advantages over their lesser-known peers. However, investors willing to make more focused small-cap bets can find some ETFs with impressive year-to-date gains that have the potential to keep moving higher. 

IndexIQ U.S. Real Estate Small Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/roof#NYSE">ROOF</a>)
It is not surprising that yield-thirsty investors have embraced real estate investment trusts over the past few years, but the focus has primarily been on those ETFs that offer exposure to large- and mid-cap REITs. The recent performance of the IndexIQ U.S. Real Estate Small Cap ETF indicates small-cap REITs are worth examining as well.

Not only has ROOF jumped more than 12 percent this year, a performance that has easily topped that of IWM and VB, this small-cap REIT offering has offered better than triple the year-to-date returns of the large-cap focused Schwab U.S. Reit ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/schh#NYSE">SCHH</a>).

While ROOF trades just 25,300 shares per day on average, <a href="http://www.indexiq.com/docs/roof/premiumdiscountchart12.31.12.pdf">the ETF rarely trades in excess of 25 cents beyond its net asset value</a>, indicating liquidity is at least decent. ROOF's underlying index has a dividend yield of almost 6.5 percent, <a href="http://www.indexiq.com/docs/roof/factsheet.pdf">according to IndexIQ data</a>.

PowerShares Fundamental Pure Small Core Portfolio (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/pxsc#NYSE">PXSC</a>)
The PowerShares Fundamental Pure Small Core Portfolio certainly qualifies as a small ($15 million in assets under management), unheralded ETF. That does not mean PXSC is not worthy of consideration. Year-to-date, the thinly-traded fund (ADV of 2,300 shares) is up 13.5 percent, indicating that its fundamental weighting methodology can top traditional market cap weighting.

Valuation fans may want to opt for PXSC over IWM. The PowerShares offering has a P/E ratio 18.64 with a price-to-book ratio of 1.76, <a href="http://www.invescopowershares.com/products/overview.aspx?ticker=PXSC">according to issuer data</a>. IWM's P/E is almost 26.7 with a price-to-book ratio of almost 3.5, <a href="http://us.ishares.com/product_info/fund/overview/IWM.htm?fundSearch=true&amp;qt=IWM">according to iShares data</a>.

PowerShares Fundamental Pure Small Value Portfolio (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/pxsv#NYSE">PXSV</a>)
Consider the PowerShares Fundamental Pure Small Value Portfolio the value equivalent of the broader PXSC. With value stocks <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/13/03/3433239/heres-a-nominee-for-worst-analyst-call-of-2013">leading the market higher this year</a>, PXSV is worthy of consideration.

However, PXSV is not heavy so-called value sectors such as consumer staples and utilities. Rather, the $48 million ETF is intimately levered to the rebounding economy as discretionary and industrial names combine for over 41 percent of the fund's weight. A 23 percent weight to financial services names ensures this is not exactly a "low beta" ETF. 

The upside is that the RAFI Fundamental Small Cap Value Index, PXSV's underlying index, outperformed the S&amp;P SmallCap 600 Index, the Rusell 2000 and the S&amp;p 500 last, <a href="http://www.invescopowershares.com/pdf/P-PXSV-PC-1.pdf">according to PowerShares data</a>.

For more on ETFs, click <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/etfs">here</a>.

Sector ETFs

Short Ideas

After-Hours Center

PXSC

PXSV

ROOF

SCHH

3 Small-Cap ETFs to Get Acquainted With

Discount broker Charles Schwab (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/schw#NYSE">SCHW</a>), sponsor to some of the least expensive ETFs on the market, is making some of those funds even cheaper. In a filing with the <a href="http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1454889/000119312512398527/d403516d497.htm">Securities and Exchange Commission</a>, Schwab outlined fee cuts a wide array of its ETFs.

Among the Schwab funds with lower expense ratios will be two of the firm's most popular products. The Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/schb#NYSE">SCHB</a>) will see its fee reduced to 0.04 percent per year from 0.06 percent. The annual expense ratio on the Schwab U.S. Large-Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/schx#NYSE">SCHX</a>) goes to 0.04 percent from 0.08 percent. SCHB has $1.1 billion in assets under management while <a href="https://www.schwabetfs.com/summary.asp?symbol=SCHX">SCHX had $887.5 million in AUM at the end of August</a>.

The Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/schg#NYSE">SCHG</a>), Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Value ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/schv#NYSE">SCHV</a>). Schwab U.S. REIT ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/schh#NYSE">SCHH</a>) and the Schwab U.S. Mid-Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/schm#NYSE">SCHM</a>) will see annual fees reduced to 0.07 percent from 0.13 percent.

The Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/scha#NYSE">SCHA</a>) goes down three basis points to 0.1 percent from 0.13 percent. In the dividend space, Schwab slashed the expense ratio on the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/schd#NYSE">SCHD</a>) to 0.07 percent from 0.17 percent.

Schwab also reduced expenses on several of its international funds, including the Schwab International Equity ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/schf#NYSE">SCHF</a>), which is going to 0.09 percent from 0.13 percent. The Schwab International Small-Cap Equity ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/schc#NYSE">SCHC</a>) will now have an expense ratio of 0.2 percent down from 0.35 percent.

Interestingly, the Vanguard MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/vwo#NYSE">VWO</a>) has lost the title of cheapest emerging markets ETF. That honor now goes to the Schwab Emerging Markets Equity ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/sche#NYSE">SCHE</a>), which will now charge 0.15 percent compared with 0.25 percent in the past.

Fees on the Schwab U.S. TIPS ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/schp#NYSE">SCHP</a>) were cut in half to 0.07 percent from 0.14 percent. The Schwab Short-Term U.S. Treasury ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/scho#NYSE">SCHO</a>) goes to 0.08 percent from 0.12 percent while the Schwab Intermediate-Term U.S. Treasury ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/schr#NYSE">SCHR</a>) will now charge 0.1 percent compared with 0.12 percent in the past.

The Schwab U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/schz#NYSE">SCHZ</a>) also cut its fees in half to 0.05 percent from 0.1 percent while the Schwab U.S. REIT ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/schh#NYSE">SCHH</a>) will now charge 0.07 percent, down from 0.13 percent. 

All that on top of the fact that Schwab offers all of its ETFs on a commission-free basis to its clients.

For more on ETFs, click <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/etfs">here</a>.

Emerging Market ETFs

Pre-Market Outlook

Intraday Update

SCHC

SCHD

SCHG

SCHO

SCHP

SCHR

SCHV

SCHX

Schwab ETF Fees Hit Rock Bottom

AFAM

ARBA

BMRN

CBST

CHSI

JKHY

KELYA

LPSN

LQDT

LUFK

MCRS

MGAM

NETL

NSIT

ONXX

PCYC

PEET

PNRA

QCOR

SBNY

SCSS

SFSF

SHFL

SIVB

SLXP

TQNT

USTR

VOXX

ZOLL

Top 10 Small Cap ETFs

We're less than 10 days from the start of January and that means it time to start forecasting the odds of a real January Effect. The January Effect is defined as a run up in stocks, often following a down December. Obviously, this doesn't happen every January, but the first month of the year is often pivotal in determining the outcome for stocks for the entire year so it's safe to say the bulls would like to see a legitimate January Effect start here in a few days.

It should also be noted that a real January Effect is often lead by small-caps. One analyst said since 1926, small-cap stocks have beaten large caps 76% of the time in January, according to Barron's. 

Of course, there is some debate about whether or not we'll see a January Effect in 2012. Jeffrey Hirsch, editor of the "Stock Trader's Almanac," recently told Bloomberg News sees a small-cap led January Effect next year. Bank of America, on the other hand, doesn't agree.

So maybe small-caps will rise next month. Maybe they won't, but let's get in holiday spirit and assume they will by looking at the following ETFs.

PowerShares S&amp;P SmallCap Energy ETF (Nasdaq: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/psce#Nasdaq">PSCE</a>):
Considering that small-caps have been hit hard for most of 2011 and energy names have tumbled in recent months, the PowerShares S&amp;P SmallCap Energy ETF has held up very nicely by jumping more than 4% year-to-date. An old winner from the <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/premium-newsletters/406421/etf-professor">ETF Professor</a>, PSCE looks good above $36. Not to mention, the ETF is home to a few takeover targets and those companies could be acquired next year, fueling a run back to the mid-40s for PSCE.

PowerShares S&amp;P Consumer Staples Small-Cap ETF (Nasdaq: PSCC):
We've spent plenty of time discussing the <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/11/12/2211368/no-surprise-here-global-stocks-pressuring-sector-etfs-s-">in staples stocks and ETFs this year</a>. Well, it could easily continue in 2012 with Europe's sovereign debt crisis nowhere near being fixed and a presidential election looming in the U.S. 

Definitely an under the radar play, PSCC has just $20.3 million in assets under management. That means a lot of investors have missed out on the ETF's 6% rise this year.

Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/scha#NYSE">SCHA</a>):
There's not a lot of difference between the Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF, SPDR S&amp;P 600 Small Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/sly#NYSE">SLY</a>), the iShares S&amp;P SmallCap 600 Index Fund (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/ijr#NYSE">IJR</a>) and the Vanguard Small Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/vb#NYSE">VB</a>), but there are two things to note before getting involved with SCHA. First, it has the lowest expense ratio of the aforementioned quartet. Second, it has been the worst performer of the group in 2011. Things to ponder...

Vanguard Small Cap Growth ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/vbk#NYSE">VBK</a>):
For those willing to be really bullish on small-caps, a growth ETF is the way to go and the Vanguard Small Cap Growth ETF is the one to do it with. Home to almost 1,000 stocks, VBK has a scant expense ratio of just 0.12% and it's performance this year has been decent considering small-caps and growth have basically been off the table. VBK has started to perk up recently, perhaps indicating it's primed for a January Effect of its own.

 

<div id="action-items">ACTION ITEMS: Bullish: Traders who believe that small-caps will lead the charge in January might want to consider the following trades: <ul><li>Long PSCE. The ETF is levered to the price of oil, making it a great ETF for quick gains.</li></ul><ul><li>Long small-cap growth. VBK or EES will help with that. </li></ul><ul><li>Get wild and crazy with the Direxion Daily Small Cap Bull 3X Shares (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/tna#NYSE">TNA</a>) as a short term trade.</li></ul>Bearish: Traders who believe that small-caps will falter  may consider alternative positions: <ul><li>Long the Direxion Daily Small Cap Bear 3X Shares (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/tza#NYSE">TZA</a>). Another good idea for the active trader.</li></ul><ul><li>Long the ProShares UltraPro Short Russell2000 (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/srty#NYSE">SRTY</a>). Less leverage than TNA, but it tracks the Russell 2000 on an inverse basis.</li></ul><ul><li>Long conservative large-cap sectors such as staples.</li></ul>Neither Benzinga nor its staff recommend that you buy, sell, or hold any security. We do not offer investment advice, personalized or otherwise. Benzinga recommends that you conduct your own due diligence and consult a certified financial professional for personalized advice about your financial situation.</div>

Specialty ETFs

Technicals

Previews

PSCE

SRTY

Play The January Effect With These Small-Cap ETFs

We're back with another installment of our five-part series “Bigger Isn't Always Better With ETFs.” Thus far, we've made the rounds with a variety of ETFs, particularly in the commodities and emerging markets asset classes, so this week we're going to see what we can turn up when it comes to smaller index and sector funds that are more worthy of investors' consideration than the larger fund.

With sector funds, it should be noted that since many hold the same stocks, often times with comparable weights, their performances move in lockstep with each other. So on that basis, we would opt for the cheaper ETF even if its assets under management are well below a rival ETF.

With that, let's look at a few more “bigger isn't always better” candidates.

Smaller Can Be Better With Small-Caps
The iShares S&amp;P SmallCap 600 Index Fund (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/ijr#NYSE">IJR</a>) is one of the largest ETFs tracking U.S. small-caps with almost $6.5 billion in assets under management. The SPDR S&amp;P 600 Small Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/sly#NYSE">SLY</a>) does basically the same thing as IJR with 1% of IJR's AUM total. Both have expense ratios of 0.2%. Or you can opt for the Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/scha#NYSE">SCHA</a>), which is far smaller than IJR. SCHA has an expense ratio of just 0.13% and Schwab clients can trade it commission-free.

An Oil Services Battle
The iShares Dow Jones US Oil Equipment Index Fund (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/iez#NYSE">IEZ</a>) is a fine option for making a bullish bet on the oil services stocks. Most investors know that, but a compelling alternative is the SPDR S&amp;P Oil &amp; Gas Equipment &amp; Services ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/xes#NYSE">XES</a>), which holds more stocks than IEZ. XES has $110 million in AUM less than IEZ, but the SPDR offering has slightly outperformed IEZ this year, plus its fees of 0.35% are cheaper than the 0.47% expense ratio IEZ sports.

Real Estate Rumble
The iShares Dow Jones US Real Estate ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/iyr#NYSE">IYR</a>) is a well-known REIT ETF. A nice yield of 4.1% helps and $2.9 billion in AUM shows this ETF is popular among REIT investors. The Schwab U.S. REIT ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/schh#NYSE">SCHH</a>) isn't much different, right? It has just $155 million in AUM and not much in the way of yield. Don't miss SCHH though. It has an expense ratio of 0.13% compared to 0.47% for IYR and SCHH has outperformed the iShares ETF year-to-date. And SCHH is commission-free for Schwab clients.

Bull case:
Obviously, small-caps and oil services are high-beta groups and it might too early to go running into big positions with the ETFs highlighted here, but keep an eye on SCHA, XES and IEZ for dip-buying opportunities going forward. REIT ETFs should remain less bad as investors remain hungry for dividends.

Bear case:
Europe continues tumbling, U.S. economic data weakens and investors become convinced the debt situations on both sides of the Atlantic are worsening.

Futures

Commodities

iShares Dow Jones US Oil Equipment & Services Index Fund

iShares Trust Dow Jones US Real Estate Fund Index

SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Equipment & Services ETF

Bigger Isn't Always Better With ETFs: Part III

WisdomTree Trust WisdomTree SmallCap Dividend

DODGX

streetTRACKS Dow Jones U.S. Large Cap Value Index Fund

FCNTX

iShares S&P SmallCap 600 Growth Index Fund

iShares Trust Russell Midcap Growth Index Fund

iShares Trust Russell MidCap Value Index Fund

iShare Morningstar Large Growth Index Fund

iShares Morningstar Large Value Index Fund

iShares Morningstar Small Growth Index Fund

PowerShares Dynamic Developed International Opportunities Portfolio

PowerShares ETF Trust International Dividend Achievers Portfolio

PowerShares Exchange Traded Fund Dynamic Mid Cap Portfolio

PowerShares Exchange Traded Fund Dynamic Small Cap Portfolio

PowerShares Exchange Traded Fund Trust Dynamic Mid Cap Value Portfolio

PowerShares Exchange Traded Fund Trust Dynamic Small Cap Growth Portfolio

PowerShares Exchange Traded Fund Trust Dynamic Large Cap Value Portfolio

QQQQ

Rydex ETF Trust S&P Midcap 400 Pure Growth ETF

Rydex ETF Trust S&P Midcap 400 Pure Value ETF

Rydex ETF Trust Rydex S&P Equal Weight ETF

Rydex ETF Trust S&P Smallcap 600 Pure Growth ETF

National Semiconductor Provides Good Funds in Their Retirement Plan

streetTRACKS Dow Jones U.S. Small Cap Value Index Fund

iShares Trusthen & Steers Realty Majors Index Fund

iShares S&P SmallCap 600 Value Index Fund

iShares Morningstar Small Value Index Fund

LSVEX

PTTRX

PowerShares Exchange Traded Fund Trust Dynamic Small Cap Value Portfolio

PowerShares Exchange-Traded Fund Trust II PowerShares FTSE RAFI Emerging Markets Portfolio

Rydex ETF Trust S&P Smallcap 600 Pure Value ETF

Accenture 401K Retirement Plan: High Quality and Low Cost Funds with Proper Diversification

U.S. small cap stocks have been doing well recently. In fact, small cap blend (IWM) has a 24.15% 52-week return. Only the Smallcap Growth (IWO) and Midcap Growth (IWP) have the higher 52-week returns. For more detailed performance, please refer to <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.myplaniq.com/LTISystem/advanced__markets.action" target="_blank">here</a>.  
 Smallcap Blend (IWM) is now ranked as second in the following U.S. equity style trend score table.
<div> 
<table border="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Assets Class</th>
<th>Symbols</th>
<th>03/04 Trend Score</th>
<th>02/25 Trend Score</th>
<th>Direction</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Russell Smallcap Growth</td>
<td>IWO</td>
<td>14.99%</td>
<td>17.86%</td>
<td>v</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Russell Smallcap Index</td>
<td>IWM</td>
<td>12.96%</td>
<td>16.32%</td>
<td>v</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Russell Midcap Growth</td>
<td>IWP</td>
<td>12.68%</td>
<td>15.65%</td>
<td>v</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Russell Smallcap Value</td>
<td>IWN</td>
<td>11.71%</td>
<td>15.18%</td>
<td>v</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Russell Midcap Indedx</td>
<td>IWR</td>
<td>11.39%</td>
<td>14.3%</td>
<td>v</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Russell Midcap Value</td>
<td>IWS</td>
<td>10.81%</td>
<td>13.86%</td>
<td>v</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Russell Largecap Growth</td>
<td>IWF</td>
<td>10.19%</td>
<td>12.42%</td>
<td>v</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Russell Largecap Index</td>
<td>IWB</td>
<td>9.41%</td>
<td>11.89%</td>
<td>v</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Russell Largecap Value</td>
<td>IWD</td>
<td>9.36%</td>
<td>11.94%</td>
<td>v</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
 The trend score is defined as the average of 1,4,13,26 and 52 week total returns (including dividend reinvested). To gain exposures in US Small Cap stocks, one can choose one of the five ETFs listed in the following table, among other ETFs in this category. These five ETFs have the highest average trading volumes in the Small cap stock ETFs category. 
 Let's review their performance:
<table border="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>Description(Symbol)</th>
<th>1Yr</th>
<th>3Yr</th>
<th>5Yr</th>
<th>1Yr Sharpe</th>
<th>Volume(K)</th>
</tr>
<tr>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Vanguard Small Cap ETF(<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.myplaniq.com/LTISystem/jsp/fundcenter/View.action?symbol=VB&amp;type=1&amp;includeHeader=true" target="_blank">VB</a>)</td>
<td>28.25%</td>
<td>8.18%</td>
<td>4.25%</td>
<td>127.83%</td>
<td>219</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>iShares S&amp;P SmallCap 600 Index(<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.myplaniq.com/LTISystem/jsp/fundcenter/View.action?symbol=IJR&amp;type=1&amp;includeHeader=true" target="_blank">IJR</a>)</td>
<td>26.7%</td>
<td>7.1%</td>
<td>3.13%</td>
<td>122.73%</td>
<td>626</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>iShares Russell 2000 Index(<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.myplaniq.com/LTISystem/jsp/fundcenter/View.action?symbol=IWM&amp;type=1&amp;includeHeader=true" target="_blank">IWM</a>)</td>
<td>26.68%</td>
<td>7.21%</td>
<td>2.67%</td>
<td>117.63%</td>
<td>49,700</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>iShares Russell Microcap Index(<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.myplaniq.com/LTISystem/jsp/fundcenter/View.action?symbol=IWC&amp;type=1&amp;includeHeader=true" target="_blank">IWC</a>)</td>
<td>25.51%</td>
<td>3.91%</td>
<td>-1.65%</td>
<td>100.14%</td>
<td>212</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF(<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.myplaniq.com/LTISystem/jsp/fundcenter/View.action?symbol=SCHA&amp;type=1&amp;includeHeader=true" target="_blank">SCHA</a>)</td>
<td>30.17%</td>
<td>NA</td>
<td>NA</td>
<td>133.31%</td>
<td>223</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
  From the above table, it is very clear that Schwab ETF (SCHA) achieved highest 1 year return and highest Sharpe ratio (1.33). Since Schwab ETF was created in 11/2009, it has shortest history and thus its 3 year and 5 year performance can not be compared. But its extra 2% return in the last one year is impressive. 
 If we expand the time horizon, Vanguard Small Cap ETF (VB) stands out as a clear winner, in both last 3 and 5 years. Compared with iShares S&amp;P SmallCap 600 (IJR), in the last 5 years, VB gave investors extra 1.12% annually. This is something not very insignificant. What is more, if one compares VB with the most popular iShares Russell 2000 Index ETF (IWM), VB returned extra 1.58% annually! This extra return can not be explained by the low expense ratio in VB alone, as VB has 0.12% expense, compared with IJR's 0.2%. 
 The takeaway is that investors should pay attention to the performance among ETFs, even in the same category. The 1-2% annual return difference is striking. A systematic and periodic review of these ETFs can definitely improve portfolio performance. 
Symbols:<a href ='../../../../LTISystem/f401k_symbols.action?symbol= VB &amp;count=001'> VB </a>,<a href ='../../../../LTISystem/f401k_symbols.action?symbol= IJR &amp;count=001'> IJR </a>,<a href ='../../../../LTISystem/f401k_symbols.action?symbol= IWM &amp;count=001'> IWM </a>,<a href ='../../../../LTISystem/f401k_symbols.action?symbol= IWC &amp;count=001'> IWC </a>,<a href ='../../../../LTISystem/f401k_symbols.action?symbol= SCHA&amp;count=001'> SCHA</a>,
</div>
 
					<a href = "http://www.myplaniq.com:80/jforum/posts/preList/2664/2813.page">comments(0)</a>  
					<a class="a2a_dd" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save"><img src="http://static.addtoany.com/buttons/share_save_171_16.png" width="171" height="16" border="0" alt="Share/Bookmark" /></a>

Schwab and Vanguard Small Cap ETFs Outperformed More Liquid iShares ETFs

As our week long conversation about efficient portfolio construction progresses, it could also be thought of as a discussion about Lazy Portfolios. Yesterday I got an email informing me that RBS came out with a Trendpilot ETN for gold, symbol TBAR (IndexUniverse also had an article about it). This is the third fund in the lineup and I think there could be more coming. There is one for the S&amp;P 500 with symbol TRND and one for the S&amp;P 400 with symbol TRNM. I wrote about TRND and TRNM <a href="http://www.thestreet.com/story/10991691/1/etns-to-avoid-a-full-bear-market-decline.html">for theStreet</a> if you want more details but basically the ETN replicates long exposure to the underlying when the underlying is above its 200 DMA and replicates t-bills when the underlying is below its 200 DMA.
Before getting into strategy, these are notes issued by a bank that is 80% owned by the UK government and while I don't think the central bank has propped them up only to later allow them to fail the facts of the issuer remain. Additionally, employing the 200 DMA strategy under the hood of the ETN is not plain vanilla, although it is plainer than if they were doing this in an ETF.
That out of the way, we have been talking for the last few days about very simplistic portfolios for people just starting out (the idea being you might be a person of influence on investing in your various social or professional circles) but we could also be talking about lazy portfolios too.
I've mentioned using the Schwab Large Cap ETF (<a class="ticker" href="/stock/schb#">SCHB</a>) and the Schwab Small Cap ETF (<a class="ticker" href="/stock/scha#">SCHA</a>) for certain accounts for being very cheap and because the commission is waived. In <a href="http://randomroger.blogspot.com/2011/02/narrow-exposure-getting-easier-to.html">yesterday's post</a> I posited that a portfolio consisting of SCHB, SCHA and the not-yet-listed Guggenheim ABC High Dividend ETF would allow for broad asset exposure along with the active decision of having avoided Europe and Japan. The fees for two of the funds (the Schwab ones) would be microscopic and there'd only be one $9 commission. This concept implemented as a lazy portfolio offers no defensive protection; the active plan of going defensive would make the portfolio un-lazy, so to speak.
Replacing SCHB with the large cap Trendpilot ETN would create a defensive strategy with in the mix but still allow for lazy to prevail. The mix would still have US large cap, US small cap along with (hopefully) broad exposure to Australia, Brazil and Canada. There would be two commissions to implement the portfolio and the Trendpilot expense ratio is 100 basis points when it is long the underlying which is huge in the context of a low fee portfolio and the last ten years notwithstanding this will be long the underlying the vast majority of the time. Some big chunk of the portfolio going on defense (referring to the portion allocated to the Trendpilot) would go a long way to missing the full brunt of down a lot; not the full drawdown, just a chunk of it which could be a difference maker.
Obviously I do not know if the Trendpilot is the answer. Clearly I am favorably disposed to the strategy but the product is brand new and I think the innovation is, at the very least, helpful and we know the ETP industry will continue to innovate thus democratizing many concepts that have not been easily accessible to people before.
Felix Salmon has had a string of articles lately really questioning why any individual participates in the stock market, <a href="http://seekingalpha.com/article/254583-why-do-we-want-stocks-to-go-up">here is one of his latest</a>. It is a worthwhile exploration but the conclusion should not be avoid the stock market so much as maybe be skeptical of it and figure out how to use it in such a way as to give yourself the best chance you can of getting what you want from it. To the extent this makes sense to you on some level, then your course of action will likely include strategic implementation of investment products. 
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8532070-9170362765343382463?l=randomroger.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>

Lazy Portfolio Evolves?

Charles Schwab (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/schw#NYSE">SCHW</a>) will lower expense ratios on six of is ETFs to go along with commission-fee trading that is available to Schwab accountholders.
The ETFs that will see lower fees are the Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/schb#NYSE">SCHB</a>), Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF (NYSE: SCHG), Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF (NYSE: SCHV), Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/scha#NYSE">SCHA</a>), Schwab International Equity ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/schf#NYSE">SCHF</a>) and the Schwab Emerging Markets Equity ETF (NYSE: SCHE).
The expense ratio on SCHB will go to 0.06% from 0.08% and the fees on SCHG, SCHV, SCHA and SCHF will got to 0.13% from 0.15%. The fees on SCHE will be cut to 0.25% from 0.35%.
<object id="kaltura_player" name="kaltura_player"
type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullScreen="true"
allowNetworking="all" allowScriptAccess="always" height="293" width="414"
data="http://akmi.kaltura.com/index.php/kwidget/cache_st/1276111583/wid/_1
70422/uiconf_id/1739832"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"
 /><param name="allowNetworking" value="all" /><param
name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="bgcolor"
value="#000000" /><param name="flashVars"
value="playlistAPI.autoContinue=true&playlistAPI.autoInsert=true&playlistA
PI.kpl0Name=Most
Recent&playlistAPI.kpl0Url=http%3A%2F%2Fakmi.kaltura.com%2Findex.php%2Fpar
tnerservices2%2Fexecuteplaylist%3Fuid%3D%26partner_id%3D170422%26subp_id%3
D17042200%26format%3D8%26ks%3D%7Bks%7D%26playlist_id%3D0_4gemrgfi&"
 /><param name="movie"
value="http://akmi.kaltura.com/index.php/kwidget/cache_st/1276111583/wid/_
170422/uiconf_id/1739832" /><a href="http://corp.kaltura.com">video
platform</a> <a
href="http://corp.kaltura.com/technology/video_management">video
management</a> <a href="http://corp.kaltura.com/solutions/overview">video
solutions</a> <a
href="http://corp.kaltura.com/technology/video_player">video
player</a></object>

Schwab Lowers Fees On Six 6 ETFs

ETFs issued by Charles Schwab (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/schw#NYSE">SCHW</a>) have proven fairly popular with investors in just a few months on the market. Schwab's first four ETFs came to market in November and the firm introduced two more in December and two more in January.
The first four Schwab ETFs -- the Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/schb#NYSE">SCHB</a>), the Schwab U.S. Large-Cap ETF(NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/schx#NYSE">SCHX</a>), the Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/scha#NYSE">SCHA</a>) and the Schwab International Equity ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/schf#NYSE">SCHF</a>) were launched Nov. 3, 2009. The Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF (NYSE: SCHG) and the Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Value ETF (NYSE: SCHV) were launched on Dec. 11, 2009. The Schwab Emerging Markets Equity ETF(NYSE: SCHE) and the Schwab International Small-Cap Equity ETF (NYSE: SCHC) began trading on Jan. 14, 2010, according to a statement issued by Schwab.
The robust inflows may have been helped by Schwab offering commission free trades on its ETFs to Schwab clients. That offer is for online trades for account holders with balances of $1,000 or higher.

Schwab ETFs Top $1 Billion In Assets

There were 23 new ETFs and five new ETNs launched in November.  No products were delisted.  The net increase of 28 pushed the quantity of listed products to 908, the first time the count has been above 900.
In theory, each hundred new products should come quicker than the previous since it represents a smaller percentage increase.  However, it took 18 months for the list to grow from 800 to 900 while the climb from 700 to 800 took just four months.
<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7206" title="ETP-listing-count-11-30-09" src="http://investwithanedge.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/ETP-listing-count-11-30-09.jpg" alt="ETP-listing-count-11-30-09" width="420" height="335" />
In fact, the 400, 500, 600, 700, and 800 levels were all eclipsed during the 18-month period prior to the one just completed.  In other words, new listings grew at only 15% over the past 18 months versus more than 100% in the previous 18-month span.
Even with that dramatic decline in the growth rate, the number of new listings in November was the highest in twelve months.  This was still far below the record of 50 launched in January 2007.  The pace is picking up once again but remains well below the rapid climb we saw from 2006-2008 when the number of products increased by 279% (an annualized growth rate of 56% per year).

<table class="wptable rowstyle-alt" id="wptable-49" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2">
<thead>
<tr>
<th class="sortable" style="width:250px" align="left">November 2009 Month End</th>
<th class="sortable" style="width:70px" align="center">ETFs</th>
<th class="sortable" style="width:70px" align="center">ETNs</th>
<th class="sortable" style="width:70px" align="center">Total</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tr>
<td style="width:250px" align="left">Currently Listed U.S.</td>
<td style="width:70px" align="center">819</td>
<td style="width:70px" align="center">89</td>
<td style="width:70px" align="center">908</td>
</tr>
<tr class="alt">
<td style="width:250px" align="left">Listed as of 12/31/2008</td>
<td style="width:70px" align="center">760</td>
<td style="width:70px" align="center">85</td>
<td style="width:70px" align="center">845</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width:250px" align="left">New Introductions for Month</td>
<td style="width:70px" align="center">23</td>
<td style="width:70px" align="center">5</td>
<td style="width:70px" align="center">28</td>
</tr>
<tr class="alt">
<td style="width:250px" align="left">Delistings/Closures for Month</td>
<td style="width:70px" align="center">0</td>
<td style="width:70px" align="center">0</td>
<td style="width:70px" align="center">0</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width:250px" align="left">Net Change for Month</td>
<td style="width:70px" align="center">+23</td>
<td style="width:70px" align="center">+5</td>
<td style="width:70px" align="center">+28</td>
</tr>
<tr class="alt">
<td style="width:250px" align="left">New Introductions YTD</td>
<td style="width:70px" align="center">104</td>
<td style="width:70px" align="center">9</td>
<td style="width:70px" align="center">113</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width:250px" align="left">Delistings/Closures YTD</td>
<td style="width:70px" align="center">45</td>
<td style="width:70px" align="center">5</td>
<td style="width:70px" align="center">50</td>
</tr>
<tr class="alt">
<td style="width:250px" align="left">Net Change YTD</td>
<td style="width:70px" align="center">+59</td>
<td style="width:70px" align="center">+4</td>
<td style="width:70px" align="center">+63</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width:250px" align="left">On Deathwatch at End of Month</td>
<td style="width:70px" align="center">88</td>
<td style="width:70px" align="center">40</td>
<td style="width:70px" align="center">128</td>
</tr>
<tr class="alt">
<td style="width:250px" align="left">% on Deathwatch</td>
<td style="width:70px" align="center">10.7%</td>
<td style="width:70px" align="center">44.9%</td>
<td style="width:70px" align="center">14.1%</td>
</tr>
</table>

Notes: The ETF counts include MacroShares, which technically are not <a href="http://investwithanedge.com/the-soul-of-an-etf" target="_blank">ETFs</a>.  The new introductions and closings quantities do not include the <a href="http://investwithanedge.com/extreme-makeover-etf-edition" target="_blank">XGC extreme makeover</a> in July.
New products launched in November (in chronological order):
<ul>
<li>PIMCO 3-7 Year U.S. Treasury Index ETF (FIVZ) (<a href="http://investwithanedge.com/two-more-bond-etfs-from-pimco-fivz-and-zroz" target="_blank">article on FIVZ and ZROZ</a>)</li>
<li>PIMCO 25+ Year Zero Coupon U.S. Treasury Index ETF (ZROZ)</li>
<li>Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF (SCHB) (<a href="http://investwithanedge.com/schwab-creates-watershed-event-with-commission-free-etfs" target="_blank">article on Schwab launch</a>)</li>
<li>Schwab U.S. Large-Cap ETF (SCHX)</li>
<li>Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF (SCHA)</li>
<li>Schwab International Equity ETF (SCHF)</li>
<li>TXF Large Companies ETF (TXF) (<a href="http://investwithanedge.com/texas-etf-begins-trading-txf" target="_blank">article on TXF</a>)</li>
<li>Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ) (<a href="http://investwithanedge.com/well-timed-launch-for-new-junior-gold-etf-gdxj" target="_blank">article on GDXJ</a>)</li>
<li>iShares Diversified Alternative Trust (ALT) (<a href="http://investwithanedge.com/ishares-launches-its-first-alpha-seeking-etf" target="_blank">article on ALT</a>)</li>
<li>IQ ARB Merger Arbitrage ETF (MNA) (<a href="http://investwithanedge.com/three-new-etfs-on-tuesday-mna-mint-bab" target="_blank">article on MNA, MINT, and BAB</a>)</li>
<li>PIMCO Enhanced Short Maturity Strategy Fund (MINT)</li>
<li>PowerShares Build America Bonds Portfolio (BAB)</li>
<li>First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund (GRID) (<a href="http://investwithanedge.com/smart-grid-etf-launched-by-first-trust-advisors" target="_blank">article on GRID</a>)</li>
<li>United States 12 Month Natural Gas Fund (UNL) (<a href="http://investwithanedge.com/will-unl-work-better-than-ung" target="_blank">article on UNL</a>)</li>
<li>Barclays S&amp;P 500 3x Long 2009 ETN+ (BXUB) (<a href="http://investwithanedge.com/barclays-launches-no-reset-leveraged-etns" target="_blank">article on new ETN+ products</a>)</li>
<li>Barclays S&amp;P 500 2x Long 2009 ETN+ (BXUC)</li>
<li>Barclays S&amp;P 500 1x Short 2009 ETN+ (BXDB)</li>
<li>Barclays S&amp;P 500 2x Short 2009 ETN+ (BXDC)</li>
<li>Barclays S&amp;P 500 3x Short 2009 ETN+ (BXDD)</li>
<li>iShares S&amp;P India Nifty 50 Index Fund (INDY) (<a href="http://investwithanedge.com/india-nifty-50-etf-launched" target="_blank">article on INDY</a>)</li>
<li>Vanguard Short-Term Government Bond ETF (VGSH) (<a href="http://investwithanedge.com/vanguard-launches-new-bond-etfs" target="_blank">article on new Vanguard ETFs</a>)</li>
<li>Vanguard Intermediate-Term Government Bond ETF (VGIT)</li>
<li>Vanguard Long-Term Government Bond ETF (VGLT)</li>
<li>Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF (VCSH)</li>
<li>Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF (VCIT)</li>
<li>Vanguard Long-Term Corporate Bond ETF (VCLT)</li>
<li>Vanguard Mortgage-Backed Securities ETF (VMBS)</li>
<li>Market Vectors Poland ETF (PLND) (<a href="http://investwithanedge.com/us-investors-now-have-direct-access-to-poland" target="_blank">article on PLND</a>)</li>
</ul>
Product closures/delistings in November:
None
Previous ETF monthly statistics reports are available <a href="http://investwithanedge.com/category/etf-statistics" target="_blank">here</a>.
Disclosure covering writer, editor, and publisher: Long GDXJ.  No positions in any of the other securities mentioned. No positions in any of the companies or ETF sponsors mentioned.  No income, revenue, or other compensation (either directly or indirectly) received from, or on behalf of, any of the companies or ETF sponsors mentioned.
<img src="http://investwithanedge.com/?ak_action=api_record_view&amp;id=7201&amp;type=feed" alt="" />

ETF Stats for November 2009: Active Listings at 908

Can it be true? Are there ETFs that not only have low expense fees and can be bought and sold at will, but also are free to trade with no commissions?!
The answer is yes...
Charles Schwab is the first brokerage to unveil 'free ETFs', that for Schwab customers who trade on-line will be free to trade with no restrictions. This is boon to individual investors and advisors who had to choose between the transaction costs of ETFs or the higher management and marketing fees of mutual funds. 
Schwab's first 4 free ETFs were introduced yesterday, U.S. Broad Market (NYSE: SCHB), U.S. Large-Cap (NYSE: SCHX), U.S. Small-Cap (NYSE: SCHA) and International Equity (NYSE: SCHF). 4 additional free ETFs will be launched in early December. 
If other brokerage houses follow suit, this would be huge change to the industry and should inflict a big blow to the mutual fund and traditional ETF industries.

Commission Free ETFs: Too Good To Be True? (SCHB, SCHX, SCHA, SCHF)

Yesterday, November 3, 2009, marked a watershed event for the ETF landscape.  It’s the day that Schwab, absent from the ETF industry for past 16 years, upped the ante for any company thinking about getting into the business.  Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. launched its first four ETFs.
At first glance, the new Schwab ETFs are nothing special – just four broad based core holdings, just like dozens already available from other fund companies.  But look closer, and you will see they are also the lowest fee funds within each of their respective asset classes.
Look yet again, and see that these ETFs are also commission-free for Schwab brokerage customers.  This is historic.  Just as no-load no-transaction fee mutual funds changed the mutual fund landscape, commission-free ETFs will forever alter the way that ETFs are perceived.  With this one change, nearly every argument in favor of mutual funds instead of ETFs goes away.  Dollar cost averaging?  No longer costly with commission-free ETFs.  Small account size?  Not a problem anymore. 
Schwab has arrived, and they didn’t do it quietly.  Now all eyes will turn to the competition to see how they react.  Will other brokerage firms roll out their own ETF brands?  Will iShares and SPDRs get into the discount brokerage business?  “Strategic alliances” will be discussed, but in all likelihood are not feasible since there are not enough fees to share.  Schwab has erected a significant barrier to entry and is now well positioned to go after the lucrative 401k market.
The four new ETFs launched by Schwab:
<ul>
<li>Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF (SCHB) (<a href="http://ims.schwab.wallst.com/repository/?doc=ETFUSBroadMktOverview" target="_blank">SCHB overview</a>) will track the Dow Jones U.S. Broad Stock Market Index with a 0.08% expense ratio. The underlying index represents the largest 2,500 U.S. equities and is float-adjusted market cap weighted.</li>
<li>Schwab U.S. Large-Cap ETF (SCHX) (<a href="http://ims.schwab.wallst.com/repository/?doc=ETFUSLrgCapOverview" target="_blank">SCHX overview</a>) will track the Dow Jones U.S. Large-Cap Total Stock Market Index with a 0.08% expense ratio. The underlying index represents the largest 750 U.S. equities and is float-adjusted market cap weighted.</li>
<li>Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF (SCHA) (<a href="http://ims.schwab.wallst.com/repository/?doc=ETFUSSmCapOverview" target="_blank">SCHA overview</a>) will track the Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Total Stock Market Index with a 0.15% expense ratio. The underlying index represents the stocks ranked 751–2,500 of the largest 2,500 U.S. equities and is float-adjusted market cap weighted.</li>
<li>Schwab International Equity ETF (SCHF) (<a href="http://ims.schwab.wallst.com/repository/?doc=ETFIntlEquityOverview" target="_blank">SCHF overview</a>) will track the FTSE Developed ex-US Index with a 0.15% expense ratio. The underlying index covers1,400 large cap and mid cap stocks from more than 20 developed international markets.</li>
</ul>
Online trades of Schwab ETFs are commission-free at Schwab, while trades of third-party ETFs are still subject to commissions.
Unfortunately, the first day of trading had some glitches.  SCHA traded at the wrong price for the about the first ten minutes with those who bought early receiving about a 10% discount from NAV, unless those trades get busted.  SCHX appeared to have a similar problem but fewer shares were involved.  Market makers had trouble maintaining the appropriate depth on SCHB, and it appears some larger orders created price spikes.  SCHF had the most orderly first day of the bunch.
Schwab expects to offer four additional ETFs in December: Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF (SCHG), Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Value ETF (SCHV), Schwab International Small-Cap Equity ETF (SCHC), and Schwab Emerging Markets Equity ETF (SCHE).
Additional Information: <a href="http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/schwab/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&amp;ndmConfigId=1016332&amp;newsId=20091102006098&amp;newsLang=en" target="_blank">press release</a>, <a href="http://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/investment_products/etfs/schwab_etfs?cmsid=P-3312891&amp;lvl1=investment_products&amp;lvl2=etfs" target="_blank">Schwab ETF website</a>, <a href="http://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/investment_products/etfs/schwab_etfs/prospectuses?cmsid=P-3313768&amp;lvl1=investment_products&amp;lvl2=etfs" target="_blank">prospectus download page</a>
Disclosure compliant with <a href="http://investwithanedge.com/about-time-ftc-16-cfr-part-255" target="_blank">FTC 16 CFR Part 255</a> covering writer, editor, and publisher: No positions in any of the securities mentioned. No positions in any of the companies or ETF sponsors mentioned.  No income, revenue, or other compensation (either directly or indirectly) received from, or on behalf of, any of the companies or ETF sponsors mentioned.
<img src="http://investwithanedge.com/?ak_action=api_record_view&amp;id=6735&amp;type=feed" alt="" />